A family flair for the dramatic

Lucia MauroCHICAGO TRIBUNE

"It's safe to say that we came from a really dramatic family, but not necessarily in the theatrical sense," said Anna D. Shapiro, an associate artist at Steppenwolf Theatre.

She and her brother, actor-director David Shapiro, were attempting to trace their the roots of their creative bonds during an interview at Steppenwolf's administrative offices. They started to chuckle as they recalled growing up in an energized and intensely vocal household filled with daily dramas. Their mother, Joann is an avid theatergoer and directed her son in the original production of Wallace Shawn's "The Fever" at the Next Theatre Lab. Their late father, Morton, was a photographer.

Rather than put on shows in their Evanston home, the Shapiro clan attended live theater, dance and music performances about as regularly as some people brush their teeth. While Anna is a full-time director at Steppenwolf, David, 45, played drums in a rock band before taking an acting class "on a lark" in his early 30s.

"Our parents exposed us to the arts and encouraged us to be creative," said Anna, 35. "But the family environment is also a great break from my own professional creativity. It's nice when we're together just being ridiculous."

When not being ridiculous, Anna is directing Frank Galati and John Mahoney in Steppenwolf's current production of "The Drawer Boy." David is directing and starring in Lower Wacker Production's remount of Wallace Shawn's "The Designated Mourner" at the Berger Park Cultural Center through May 26. David also appeared in the work's North American premiere four years ago at the Steppenwolf Studio.

While they have separate theater careers, the Shapiro siblings worked together for the first time when Anna cast David in Harold Pinter's "The Homecoming" for her graduation project at Columbia College (where she majored in theater before receiving her MFA from the Yale School of Drama). At the time, her brother was taking acting classes at Columbia.

"I chose David [for `The Homecoming'] because I needed someone in that production who loved me absolutely," said Anna. "He wants to be telling the truth every second on stage. That has not changed. As a director, he's starting to have more fun in owning a point of view."

David commended his director sis for "communicating to actors what path they should take." He added, "She doesn't give you a blueprint, but she gives you the clues and guidance that lets you make those discoveries yourself."

Before Anna headed back to a rehearsal, she assumed a more sisterly role.

"We need to talk about Mom's birthday," she told her brother. "Mom wants to be surrounded by her whole family," stressed Anna.